Absolutely Fabulous
by Angelfish10108
Summary: Aisha Winters is thrust from her life in the slums to the life of the X-Men. Her world turns upside down as she tries to control her raging powers, and her feelings for one of the other team members. Scott/Aisha Kurt/Elli (some made up characters)
1. Entering A New Life

*Disclaimer* I don't own X-Men or any part of it, as much as I wish I did...  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
It started out as any other day in my life. I woke up to the normal sound of gunshots and screams from down the street. Yawning, I tossed back the covers and climbed out of bed to get dressed for school.  
  
"Aisha! Hurry up or you'll be late!"  
  
I rolled my eyes and tugged on some tight black jeans, knowing I would be late. As I slipped on a short sleeved plaid shirt, I heard my brother scrambling around in his own room, getting ready for work.  
  
"Aisha!"  
  
I shoved my feet into my black combat boots and hurried out the door.  
  
"Aisha, wait!"  
  
Derrick threw my backpack at me and I caught it, putting it on as I ran down the stairs of our apartment building.  
  
I ran all the way to school, knowing I was already late, and into my homeroom. The teacher hardly gave me a second glance as I took my seat. She just continued to read her magazine, ignoring the students as they shouted and threw paper planes and blasted music on stereos.  
  
With a sigh, I took out a book and began reading.  
  
"Aisha?"  
  
I looked up to see a boy from my class looking at me.  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
He turned a little red, so I put down my book and tilted my head, waiting for an answer.  
  
"Well...there's a dance coming up, and I was wondering if you would go with me..." He rubbed the back of his neck, embarassed. "If you don't want to it's okay..."  
  
Remembering his name (Jordan), I smiled and nodded, watching his face light up. He must be pretty desperate to go after me, the tomboyish, green eyed girl with dark blond hair.  
  
Out of all of my features, I'm most proud of my hair, even though I cut it really short, so I'm mistaken for a boy a lot. It's dark blond, with lighter streaks runnning through, and it's full, so I can style it a few different ways.  
  
"So...when's this dance?" I asked, keeping my voice low.  
  
He thought for a moment before he answered, and I'm still not sure if that was a good sign.  
  
"Today. After school. It's only for the eleventh grade."  
  
I nodded again and he went back to his seat grinning. With a shrug, I returned to my book and waited for homeroom to end.  
  
  
~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~  
  
  
Later at lunch, I sat with my friends and listened to the babble like idiots about the dance. They were all going to get dressed up for their dates and put on makeup and get their hair done.  
  
What for? There would just be a bunch of adolescent jerks drooling all over them and trying to get them into an empty classroom, not a guy who would actually care about them and show them a good time.  
  
After taking a glance over at where Jordan was sitting, I began thinking about dressing up just a little. Jordan grinned at me when he caught my gaze and I smiled back.  
  
"Ai? Who you smiling at?"  
  
Rebecca, a friend of mine, looked at me smugly from across the table. A stray bit of deep red hair hung over one deep gray eye, giving her a bit of a mysterious appearance. I shivered involuntarily and Rebecca turned to look at Jordan's table, following where my gaze had gone.  
  
"Jordan? Jordan Schmitt?" Her voice rose in shock when she saw him blushing as he glanced in my direction. "Are you going with Jordan Schmitt?"  
  
I blushed and looked down at the tabletop, suddenly bashful. Rebecca squealed in her annoying little way.  
  
"This is great, Aisha! I can't believe you snagged Jordan! He has the most gorgeous blue eyes..." Rebecca sighed and flit her eyelashes dreamily on a momentary trip from reality. "And the way his hair curls...oooh! Black is the perfect hair color for just about any guy!"  
  
Rebecca continued babbling while I waited for my color to return. She was so embarassing...  
  
"Becca, calm down. It's just Jordan, the same Jordan he was in the first grade when he poured sand down your shirt."  
  
Rebecca turned pink and I smirked, proud of myself.  
  
Over the past few years, Rebecca wanted to grow up faster and faster, until it became obvious to everyone how much she wished it. She made me sick, even if I didn't admit it. I was the only person who knew her secret for now: she was three months into a pregnancy. And only at sixteen!  
  
"Well, Becca, I'm gonna go to my locker early. I said, getting to my feet and picking up my tray. "I'll see you in chem."  
  
Rebecca waved goodbye absently and continued to talk with the other girls at the table as I walked away. I threw away what was left of my lunch and walked out of the cafeteria, headed for my locker.  
  
"Hey Aisha."  
  
I turned and saw Jordan walking beside me, smiling a little.  
  
"Call me Ai, everyone else does."  
  
He grinned and I felt myself blushing.  
  
"Okay, Ai. May I escort you to your locker, madam?"  
  
I laughed and continued walking, purposely ignoring his bowing and holding out his arm. He jogged up and stopped in front of me in the deserted hallway.  
  
"So, we're all alone now..."  
  
His voice sounded a little strange. I stopped walking, smiling nervously. A muscle in my jaw twitched slightly.  
  
"What do you mean, all alone? There's other people in the school..."  
  
I continued walking, moving to go past him, and found myself pinned against a row of lockers, Jordan's face almost right up to mine as he held me there.  
  
"You know what I mean Aisha...and with my little trick, thissss could turn out to be fun..."  
  
Jordan's tongue grew longer, slitted like a snake's as it touched my chin. I broke free of his grip with one hand and lashed out at him, crying out in panic.  
  
"You sssstupid-!"  
  
Jordan put his hand to his cheek, where four jagged lines were raked across. I looked down at my hand and saw the nails were longer, pointed and tipped with deep red blood. The next thing I saw was stars as Jordan slammed his fist into my jaw. My head cracked against the lockers and I slid down to the floor, hearing a struggle.  
  
"Leave her alone!"  
  
Rebecca had jumped on Jordan's back and was beating at him as hard as she could until he tossed her over his shoulder into a wall. Rebecca slid to the floor, a slight trickle of blood on her face from her scalp.  
  
I got to my feet, not ready for Jordan's attack as he came at me again. He grabbed my throat and pinned me against the wall again, his eyes slitted and a deep amber.  
  
"Thissss time I won't turn my back..."  
  
He leaned forward, closer to me, and then I heard a sickening crack. His eyes widened for a moment, and his grip on my throat tightened as I gasped for air, and then his whole body went slack on top of me. I pushed him off and looked in awe at Rebecca as she stood brandishing a broken chair that had been left in the hall.  
  
"Aisha..."  
  
Rebecca dropped the chair and I caught her just before she fell to the floor, blood smeared all over her face. I looked up to see a teaacher run out of his classroom towards us.  
  
"It's okay, Becca. Help is coming..."  
  
Rebecca smiled weakly at me and winked.  
  
"Girl power...right?"  
  
I smiled back, remembering when we used to be the ones picking fights every other day.  
  
"...right."  
  
  
~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~  
  
  
"Are you telling me, that Jordan Schmitt just...turned into some sort of...snake creature?"  
  
I sat in Principal McGuinness's office, holding an ice pack to my head while he yelled at me from the other side of his desk.  
  
"No! I said his tongue got really long and slitted, like a snake's, and his eyes looked like a snake's, and he talked kind of funny when he said the letter s!"  
  
"Like a snake."  
  
"Yes! So we have that established! Aren't you going to do anything?"  
  
Principal McGuinness looked at me sharply and turned away.  
  
"Aisha, you're accusing one of our top students of not only attacking you, but being a mutant. Do you understand the seriousness of this situation?"  
  
"If I didn't, I wouldn't be here right now."  
  
I glared at his back, knowing he couldn't understand it like I did. I had done something back there...those hands I had seen weren't mine. They had been covered in light fur, tipped with deadly claws. My hands were pale, with neatly trimmed nails as my brother insisted.  
  
"Aisha, please go home. I will speak with you tomorrow, when things settle down."  
  
Gladly, I pushed back my chair and stormed out of the room, slaming the door behind me. What a jerk!  
  
  
~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~  
  
  
"Just because I'm so much younger, he refuses to believe me!" I cried as Derrick and I ate dinner. He had arrived minutes before from work. "It isn't fair!"  
  
Derrick looked at me sharply from his plate.  
  
"If what you said is true, than that boy should be locked away somewhere. Not only is he a mutant, but he attacked a helpless classmate!"  
  
I poked at my corn, silent. Derrick glanced over at me again.  
  
"Did you use your blade on him? They said he was cut."  
  
I looked down at my hand, examining the nails as though they would erupt into claws at any given moment.  
  
"Aisha..."  
  
I looked up, my eyes full of tears.  
  
"Something happened, Derrick! I wasn't me! I was a monster!"  
  
Derrick looked at me sharply again.  
  
"What do you mean, a monster?"  
  
I held out my hands, which were sprouting little tufts of light fur already.  
  
"See? This is what happened! I don't know what I'm supposed to do!"  
  
A knock sounded on the door and Derrick's eyes filled with fear. He grabbed one of my hands and pulled me to my room, throwing me inside and shutting the door.  
  
"Don't make a sound, Aisha..." He warned, fearful. "Just a minute!"  
  
I sat on my bed, cowering in fear as Derrick opened the door.  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"We have to speak to Aisha Winters immediately. It's quite important."  
  
I pulled my knees up to my chest and shut my eyes, trembling as I listened.  
  
"...she's not home."  
  
"We're here to help, Mr. Winters. You have my word that no harm will come to your sister."  
  
My eyes widened. How could he know that Derrick wasn't my father?  
  
"...come in."  
  
I heard footsteps and the squeak of a wheel as they entered our apartment, and the door to my bedroom opened.  
  
"Aisha...please come out."  
  
I shook my head and squeezed my eyes shut against the burning tears.  
  
"No! I'm a monster!"  
  
'I assure you, child, that you're no more of a monster than I am. Please come out so we may speak.'  
  
I looked around to see who had spoken, but the only person in the room was Derrick. Reluctantly, I stepped off of my bed, but not without grabbing my bathrobe to hide my furry body and mussing my hair to try and cover my face.  
  
"Ah...Miss Winters, I presume? My name is Professor Charles Xavier, from a school for children such as yourself."  
  
I looked up and saw a man, much older than Derrick, sitting in a wheelchair in the middle of our living room. He had some guy with him, maybe a few years older than me, who was wearing red sunglasses. The man was bald, but his bright blue eyes captured mine and I felt some sort of presence in my mind.  
  
'Get out!' I thought, and the presence left as soon as it entered.  
  
"Aisha...I assume you know what you are?"  
  
I shook my head and sat down on the sofa, hiding my furry hands in the sleeves of the bathrobe.  
  
"Aisha. Tell the truth." Derrick warned, standing to the side.  
  
I nodded and glanced up at the Professor again. His face seemed friendly enough, I just didn't want him to se my fce, the one I had seen in the mirror of my room just a minute before.  
  
"You are a very special girl, Aisha. You have the potential to become a great person in society, if you can harness your...special abilities."  
  
I looked up at him in surprise and my hair fell back from my face. I knew he could see me, the monster that I was, from the look on his own face. The guy with him looked shocked at my appearance.  
  
"But how can you know what I am? What about Jordan? What about Rebecca?"  
  
The Professor held up his hand and I stopped babbling, ashamed of showing emotion in front of a stranger.  
  
"Jordan has disappeared. Rebecca was taken to another school for children like you. It seems she heard you screaming for help...even though you hadn't said a word."  
  
"But...in her condition..."  
  
The Professor shook his head knowingly.  
  
"She lost it, which may be for the better."  
  
I looked down at my lap and blinked back my tears. Rebecca had lost her child, the child from a moment of terror and deception that gave her nightmares for weeks. But she had still wished for it, hoping to give it as much as she could.  
  
"But..."  
  
I sat silent, and listened to Derrick and the Professor talk.  
  
"A cat?"  
  
"Yes. She looked like a cat. I even saw a tail."  
  
"This is unusual. Has anything like this happened to her before? Anything to hint at what she is?"  
  
"She can't stand being dirty, if that helps. And she's very agile, she was on a gymnastics team, helped take them to the finals and won a silver medal from the city tournament."  
  
"I see..."  
  
"And her eyes...sometimes they look...different."  
  
"Different?"  
  
"Her pupils...they get thin and tall...I think its called slitted pupils."  
  
I looked over at the guy the Professor had with him, and he looked back. He had brown hair, with a red tinge to it, that was cut short but was still a little messy. His mouth twisted into a smirk and he held out his hand in greeting.  
  
"My name's Scott Summers. I'm a student at that school the Professor was talking about."  
  
I took his hand and shook it, smiling back a little. He was pretty cute...  
  
"I guess you already know who I am..." I said shyly, drawing back.  
  
Scott smirked and I could feel his gaze on the heavy bathrobe. Blushing, I excused myself and went to my room to get rid of the thing. It was already hot out, but the bathrobe made it worse.  
  
I shed the bathrobe and emerged from my room, fixing my shirt and trying not to act like my fur was that bad. I watched for Scott's reaction as I entered the living room, running a hand through my hair to tidy it a little.  
  
All I could see was his jaw go slack before my brother grabbed my arm and brought me over to the Professor.  
  
"Aisha...the Professor says he can take you on for free as a student in his school for mutants. You'll be safer there than you are here...free housing and food. Where can you go wrong?"  
  
My eyes filled with tears.  
  
"I have to leave you? But...can't you come with me?"  
  
The Professor shook his head when Derrick looked over at him. Derrick looked at me with apology in his eyes and drew me into a hug. I squeezed my eyes shut and held on tight.  
  
"I don't want to leave you..." I whispered as Derrick stroked my hair.  
  
"It's alright, Aisha...we can talk on the phone and I'll come visit you whenever I can. I promise. Everything will be alright..."  
  
  
~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~  
  
  
A week later, I stood on the steps of the Professor's home for his students, watching Scott and another boy carry my bags inside as the Professor waited for me and Derrick to say goodbye.  
  
I threw my arms around him and hid my face in his work shirt, clutching tightly to him as he put his arms around me and held me close.  
  
"Aisha...I promise..." Derrick whispered, kissing my hair and drawing away.  
  
I swallowed my tears as Derrick drove away and turned to the Professor, even though I couldn't take my eyes off of the ground.  
  
"Given time, you will grow used to my mansion..." The Professor said, turning his wheelchair towards the front door. I heard the soft whirr of the engine as it propelled him inside. "The other students here are all around your age, and you'll find that they're usually quite easy to get along with."  
  
I followed him quietly, looking around the vast entry hall. I saw a few other people looking over the banister in different places, peeking out of doors. I saw a face, pale blue, but it disappeared as soon as it had appeared and the door closed.  
  
"They might be shy at first, Aisha, but be patient. You're new here, they don't know anything about you. You don't know any of them, or anything about them. Scott will help you to meet the others, seeing as how you two know each other already, so don't worry too much about that." How long could this guy talk for? "Your training will begin next week, and you're excused from classes, seeing as the school year has only a few days left. A hologram inducer will be made for you so you don't have to worry about public ridicule, but you have to be sure and hide your tail..."  
  
At this, I began to turn a little pink.  
  
"I don't know how to control it, sir..." I said softly, because my voice echoed loudly off of the walls. "It has a mind of its own..."  
  
"Professor! For being among the smartest people on the planet, you can be shortsighted."  
  
Scott stepped out of a room to the side, a smirk on his face. My heart hammered three times, then seemed to stop right away.  
  
"Hi, Aisha. Welcome to our humble home." He gestured to the entry hall, easily ten times bigger than the apartment in the slums I lived in. "Come on, I'll show you to your room."  
  
Smiling weakly, I fell in step behind him as he led me up a flight of stairs.  
  
"I really think you'll like it, even though you have to share with Elli. But you two should get along great." Scott opened the third door from the left and motioned for me to walk.  
  
The room was as big as my whole apartment, and ten times better looking. The walls were panelled with what looekd like rich oak, the carpet was royal blue, and a light hanging from the ceiling cast a soft glow over the whole room. Rich looking dressers were pushed against the walls, one one each side, and there were two beds, one on either side of the room.  
  
On one of the beds sat a girl about my age, possibly younger, reading an extremely thick book, an almost tropical aura hanging in the air around her. Her hair was black and hung in tons of braids all down to her waist, and she sported baggy jeans with a camoflauge tube top. Her green eyes sparkled as she smiled at me.  
  
"Hey there. I'm Elli, and I'm guessing that you're Aisha. Nice to meet you." She said in a soft voice that lilted with naïveté. "You might as well make yourself comfortable before Kurt decides to show up."  
  
Before the words were even out of her mouth, there was a sound like BAMF and a boy my age appeared in a cloud of acrid black smoke that smelled terrible. Black hair framed a pale face with faux brown eyes that reminded me of a puppy, and I won't even get started on his clothes.  
  
With a whoop, he scooped up Elli and placed her on his lap, completely oblivious to my presence as he trapped her in an intimate kiss.  
  
"Kurt! You interrupted our newest addition!" Elli said in her soft voice, tracing his jawline with her finger.  
  
Kurt looked over at me in surprise and I watched his ears turn red.  
  
"Ah! I had no idea you vere zere! Vell...nice to meet you."  
  
I nodded a greeting, but stayed close to Scott's side.  
  
"They've been a couple for a few months now, right Kurt?" Scott said with a smirk.  
  
Kurt smiled at Elli as they rubbed their noses together, pretty much ignoring the question. They were so loving it almost made me sick until Kurt grinned at Scott and winked at me, letting Elli sit next to him instead of one his lap.  
  
"I'm Kurt Wagner, and you are...?"  
  
I turned a little pink when he directed those deep brown eyes at me, a brow raised as he waited for me to respond.  
  
"Aisha...Aisha Winters. I'm sharing the room with Elli now."  
  
Kurt nodded and slipped his arm around Elli's waist, pulling her closer and burying his face in her hair.  
  
"Mmmm...you smell vonferful..."  
  
Elli giggled and put her hand behind Kurt's neck, pulling him into a kiss.  
  
Bashfully, I edged out of the room and stood in the hall, sinking to the floor and holding my pounding head. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up to see Scott standing over me.  
  
"You okay?"  
  
I nodded and he pulled me up on my feet again. We stood very close for a moment, I could feel his breath stirring my hair and my stomach did flip flops as the tension between us grew. Hearing footsteps, I turned away from him and tried to catch my breath.  
  
"Scott? Ain't ya supposed tah be givin' a tour?"  
  
A girl about my age stood at the end of the hall by a staircase, one hand on the banister. Her dark hair hung short about her face, but what struck me was the white streaks in the front. Her eyes were large and emerald green, with dark makeup that could only mean she preferred a gothic look. Her clothes were dark, and all of her skin seemed to be covered somehow.  
  
Scott cleared his throat, looking bashful. He stepped closer to the girl, mumbling something, and hurried down the staircase.  
  
The girl rolled her eyes and took a step closer to me.  
  
"He can be moody...mah name's Rogue, and ah only have one word o' advahce for ya..." She leaned in closer , to the point where our faces were almost touching. "Stay out o' mah way, and don't touch me..evah..."  
  
She spun around, casting glare over her shoulder at me, and stalked down the staircase.  
  
"Wow..."  
  
I could already tell this was going to take a while to get used to. 


	2. The Connection

*Disclaimer* I don't own X-Men. Do I look like a million dollar corporation to you?!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
As the Professor promised, the others were usually good to get along with.  
  
By the end of the week I knew that Kurt was a prankster and a troublemaker, and to steer clear of him when he got a certain look in his eyes.  
  
Rogue never really spoke to me much, but the others told me she really wasn't as bad as she seemed. Yeah, sure.  
  
Scott, as I found, was a sort of leader in our little group, which only made my heart throb. But I've never seen him without those glasses.  
  
Elli, with her soft voice and bright eyes, was figured out to be almost as mischievous as Kurt. But she was a bit slow to trust me, always sleeping with one eye open no matter what.  
  
Kitty, was almost unbearable with her valley girl accent and her whole preppy and peppy attitude, so I stayed away from her as much as possible.  
  
I met another girl, Jean, who would cast shifty looks over at me whenever I stood near Scott and talked to him, giving him little signals. I sense jealousy...  
  
Logan, the mysterious one...he was in charge of my training and told me often that I was making excellent progress for a newcomer.  
  
And Evan, the skateboarder, was always just missing me as I passed him in the halls.  
  
In all, I found the institute to be rather pleasant, when Kurt wasn't hurling water balloons from the second story to try and get the girls' t-shirts wet.  
  
And it was time for my first training session with Logan.  
  
"Okay, half pint. Get yourself over here." Logan growled, watching me from beneath an unruly mop of midnight black hair.  
  
I inched closer, not really quite sure of what to expect from him.As I approached him meekly, I heard the door to the training rooms wing open and Scott strolled in.  
  
Determined not to look bad in front of Scott, I took a daring step closer and glared right back at Logan.  
  
Logan had me practicing a few moves on a balance beam.  
  
"It'll help with your dodging skills and such. Eventually." He growled, and stood back to watch.  
  
At my school, I had been on the varsity gymnastics team. I knew the balance beam forwards, backwards, upside down and sideways.  
  
My only mistake was telling that to Logan.  
  
"If you know it so well, we can step right up to dodging."  
  
He took out a bag full of little bean bags and, before I knew what he was doing, threw one at me.  
  
Surprised, I shimmied to the side on the beam, trying to keep my balance.  
  
He threw another one at my feet. I jumped up to miss it, and he threw one at my head in midair. I ducked down, crouching on the beam.  
  
A few bags at once sailed in my direction as I stood up. I did a backflip, gripping the beam and making myself as straight up as possible to avoid getting hit.  
  
Logan stopped and wrote something on his clipboard.  
  
Without my expecting it, he hurled a few bean bags at me and knocked me off balance. I landed with a thud right on my butt in the cushioning around the beam and heard Logan's smirk even as Scott hurried over to me.  
  
"You okay?" He asked with a smirk, offering his hand to help me up.  
  
I took it and got to my feet, rubbing my sore behind.  
  
"Yeah...I never had to do anything like that before. That was intense!"  
  
Scott grinned and I felt my insides melt.  
  
"Just wait. He'll have you doing that every day, along with all that other stuff."  
  
Logan growled and Scott frowned.  
  
"I should let you get back to your session."  
  
He walked off and Logan stepped up to me.  
  
"Time for the next exercise!"  
  
"And that would be...?"  
  
"I call them the space rings. You can call them whatever the hell you want."  
  
I took a deep breath and nodded to Logan coldly.  
  
"I think I'll do just that, call them whatever the hell I want to."  
  
  
~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~  
  
  
By the time I left the training room, I was sore all over. I've never had to go through such exercise before, and it hurt. I took a hot shower after that and walked back into the room, wearing only the towel I had wrapped around myself.  
  
Scott was in the room, leaning against the doorframe as he talked to Elli about the training session they had the day before.  
  
Acting natural, I opened up my dresser and took out some clothes to change into, ignoring Scott's embarassed look and Elli's impish grin as she glanced between us. I grabbed the clothes and nodded a greeting to Scott before disappearing into the bathroom again.  
  
When I shut the door behind me, I sank down to the floor and let out a deep breath, listening carefully for their voices as Scott and Elli began talking again.  
  
"So, what were you saying Scott?"  
  
"Wha-?"  
  
"Umm...we were just talking about that traning session yesterday? Remember?"  
  
"Oh...right...ummm...what was I saying?"  
  
I heard Elli laughing and smirked to myself. I could just imagine them out there, Scott turning beet red and Elli giggling as she sat on the edge of her bed.  
  
A few minutes later I came out of the bathroom, brushing out my hair and fluffing it up. I was having one of my good days, where my fur had receded and I only had that annoying tail and my big ears. Since it was already getting late, I had thrown on a pair of loose gray pants and a red tank top.  
  
Scott was still talking with Elli, but when he saw me he turned red again. I ignored it and jumped on my bed with a little meow, blushing when I realized I had done so.  
  
"Can't help it..." I said sheepishly, when Elli began laughing again.  
  
Elli looked at me, her eyes sparkling with mischief, and Scott looked down at his feet, still red.  
  
With a sigh I flopped onto my stomach and glanced at the two of them.  
  
"If this place is always this boring, I'm outta here."  
  
Scott managed to smile at that, and seemed a bit more relaxed.  
  
"So, guys?"  
  
Elli tilted her head to the side, and Scott looked up at me. I bit my lip and continued talking.  
  
"What exactly is all this training for? I mean, is there some sort of war going on that I don't know about?"  
  
I propped myself up on my elbows and waited for an answer. Scott and Elli just looked at each other, Elli's face full of shock and Scott's full of concern. Then they looked back at me.  
  
"Well, that's something you should talk to the Professor about if you really want to know." Elli said, in her soft innocent little voice, each word calming and deliberate.  
  
I desperately wanted to hit her, but I was never sure of why.  
  
I simply shrugged and let the conversation move along. I didn't know that right outside my window a war was raging, bubbling and boiling in the hearts of every person in the entire world.  
  
And all because of us filthy mutants.  
  
  
~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~  
  
  
The day after that, I went into town with Kurt and Elli. I had just gotten my holo-watch, but I only wanted it to hide my ears and tail, nothing else, except for the fur.  
  
Kurt and Elli brought me to their favorite burger joint, I can't remember what it was called, but the food was okay.  
  
We were in the middle of eating when I spotted a group of people our age, watching us intently. I ignored them for a while, until I noticed they were whispering and gesturing in our direction.  
  
"Umm...guys? There's some punks over there watching us...can I knock the snot out of them?"  
  
Kurt and Elli twisted to look over their shoulders at the same time, then spun back to stare at me.  
  
"It's the Brotherhood!" Elli gasped.  
  
Kurt chewed on a fry, lost in thought for a moment.  
  
"But...vhy here? Vhy not vait for a little bit more?"  
  
I looked between them curiously as I slurped my soda.  
  
"Come on, they can't be that bad!" I teased.  
  
I almost swallowed the whole cup at once when they stood up and walked in our direction.  
  
"Umm...guys? Don't turn around."  
  
So of course, they turned to look. They spun back, Elli squealed, and Kurt tried acting natural as he practically inhaled his burger.  
  
The group came up and Kurt glanced at them nervously.  
  
"Oh! H-hey guys! Vhat brings you here?"  
  
A guy with white hair nodded in my direction, his arms crossed over his chest.  
  
"Her. Mystique just wants to have a little chat with the spitfire. Do you mind?"  
  
He put his hand on my shoulder and I shook it off.  
  
"Who the hell do you think you are?"  
  
Elli looked at me, an expression in her eyes that I couldn't quite read.  
  
"Just don't take to long. We promised Logan we would be back before sundown."  
  
Kurt looked at her in shock, but the group laughed and the really fat guy lifted me out of my seat. I swatted at him and he put me on my feet as I hurried to Elli.  
  
"Elli, what are you doing? Who are these guys and what do they want from me?"  
  
Elli put her hand on my shoulder, and I felt her stick a tracking device pin into the fabric of my shirt.  
  
"Don't panic. We'll meet you at the gates in an hour. Got it?"  
  
I nodded and walked back to the group. The fat guy went to pick me up again but I clawed at his hand and growled, crossing my arms over my chest as they marched me out of the burger joint.  
  
  
~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~  
  
  
A few minutes later, the group led me to a beat up looking house.  
  
When I commented on it, a toady looking guy hopped over my head and landed in an armchair.  
  
"Hey, don't dis it. We live here."  
  
The guy with white hair shoved him out of the chair and sat down in his place, glaring. The toady guy sat on the staircase and the fat guy stood in the middle of the room, waiting. A tough looking guy with messy black hair leaned against a doorframe, silent. I was reminded faintly of Scott when I looked at him.  
  
"So I finally get to meet Xavier's new spitfire..."  
  
I whirled around and looked into the face of a dark haired woman. I narrowed my eyes and took a half step back, already suspicious. She smirked, her arms crossed over her chest.  
  
"I would say it was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Winters, but seeing as how you look ready to try and kill me..." She raised a perfectly arched brow at me, mocking. "...I'm not sure if that's entirely true."  
  
I tried to relax, but my muscles stayed tense, just in case. It must be the whole cat, high strung thing. Which is probably a good thing sometimes.  
  
"Relax, Miss Winters...we aren't going to do an ounce of bodily harm to you, are we boys?"  
  
The guy with white hair smirked and winked at me, licking his lips.  
  
"I'll show you bodily harm..."  
  
The guy in the doorframe whacked him and they glared at each other for a minute.  
  
"Calm down, boys. Miss Winters, this..." She gestured to the group." ...is the Brotherhood. Of course, not all of our members are currently present. We stand for the mutant race...we believe that all mutants are created equal, no matter what their powers may be. All for one...and one for all."  
  
I narrowed my eyes. Her words were somewhat appealing.  
  
"I'm listening..."  
  
"Miss WInters, would you want to be a member of the Brotherhood? To prepare the world for the next evolution of Homo Superior? To open the doors for all of the children out there with powers to be able to say that they are a mutant and proud of it?"  
  
I relaxed a bit more. I liked the way it all sounded. The Professor wanted us to save humans, the same people who shunned us.  
  
"I like the way it sounds, but..." I thought of Derrick, letting go of me with tears in his eyes, promising to visit as much as he could. "...but I think I'll stick with Charlie X."  
  
The woman smirked and put her hands to her sides.  
  
"If you say so, Miss WInters. But, I hope you like our humble abode..."  
  
I felt a lump of panic rise in my throat as the fat guy came closer to me, and the toady guy stood up. The guy with white hair made a move to stand up, but the guy in the doorframe put a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"...you'll be staying here for a while. Until we reach some sort of...agreement."  
  
The toady jumped at me and I felt the terror that Jordan had made in me all over again.  
  
"No!" I cried, dropping to the floor and letting him crash into the fat guy.  
  
The toady and the fat guy collided and the toady hit the floor, holding his head. He was up again, but I was just as quick. I did a backflip, landing by the staircase, and watching the toady as he jumped in my direction again. I jumped up and kicked out, connecting with his jaw as I completed a full spin.  
  
The fat guy lunged at me and grabbed my hand, so I stuck my foot in his eye and he let go.  
  
"Ah! That hurt!" He bellowed, holding a hand to his eye.  
  
The guy with white hair was out of his chair and next to me before I knew what was happening. He grabbed me by the throat with one hand and gestured with his other hand as though he was going to hit me. I moved to punch him, but he grabbed my hand. He tossed me across the room and I let out a scream as the fat guy caught me by the wrist and held me above the grund.  
  
I kicked and swung out and cursed and screamed, but all they did was wait until I was exhausted before they tied me up to a chair in the middle of the room and gag me.  
  
"That should shut her up for a while."  
  
"Pietro..."  
  
"What?!"  
  
I looked down at the floor, trying to calm myself as I heard the door to the house open and two girls walked inside. One of the girls had shortblond hair, like mine, and dressed a little strangely. The other girl, was Rebecca.  
  
My eyes widened when I saw her, and she did the same.  
  
"Aisha?!"  
  
The toady guy removed the gag and I gawked at her.  
  
"Rebecca? What are you doing here?"  
  
Rebecca looked different from when I last saw her. Her hair was shorter, almost reaching her shoulders, and she wore less makeup. But I saw the dead look in her eyes, as though she had lost her whole world.  
  
"Aisha..." She looked at all the others. "What is she doing tied up?"  
  
"Waiting for you."  
  
I looekd over my shoulder to glare at the woman.  
  
"Mystique..." Rebecca stuttered, turning pale. "I...I didn't know you were there. I...I didn't...I didn't..."  
  
Mystique smirked and laughed deep in her throat. The sound sent chills up my spine.  
  
"No worries, Becca. We just need you to make the connection, and then we're sending her back home."  
  
Pietro put a hand on my shoulder, gave it a sharp squeeze.  
  
"Send her home? Can't we at least have a little fun?"  
  
Mystique shot him a sharp look and he stepped back.  
  
"Pietro...Freddy...Lance...Toad...step back?" Rebecca said quietly, walking up to me. "I need some room for this..."  
  
They all stepped back and Rebecca put her hands on my face, leaning close to me.  
  
"Don't be afraid..." She said in a croaking whisper. "This will only hurt for a minute..."  
  
A deafening, high pitched ringing burst into my head at those words, and I gasped from the pain it sent through my whole body. My hands twitched, I could feel it, just itching to cover my ears and stop the sound.  
  
I felt her sorting through my mind, travelling through memories and reading my thoughts as she sought for the connection. Jordan's attack, Derrick giving me a birthday present, my first visit to the mall, all these and more I relived until she came to the image of me looking into my mother's face, still damp from sweat as she smiled down at me.  
  
'She's beautiful...'  
  
'She's a monster!'  
  
'She won't live like us...we'll suppress it...she will never have to know...'  
  
I felt tears running down my face as I raced forward in my memories, to the moment that I was living now, and felt her following my emotions and thoughts.  
  
'Scott...Scott...please help me...'  
  
'You said you would be here for me! You lied to me!'  
  
'So much for the perfect friendship...'  
  
I felt something creeping into my mind, at an alarming rate. I felt Rebecca's thoughts in my mind as she made the connection, felt her own tears as though they were mine.  
  
'I wish I didn't have to do this...I'm so sorry, Aisha!'  
  
'Please...please forgive me...'  
  
The connection snapped into place and Rebecca's hands twitched as her mind pulled me back to reality.  
  
Both of us took a deep, quivering breath, not noticing the stares of our peers. We looked directly into each others eyes as we spoke as one.  
  
"It is done. The connection...has been made."  
  
  
~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~  
  
  
Half an hour later, I was standing with Kurt and Elli by the gates to the Xavier mansion.  
  
"What did they want?" Elli asked, her voice as soft and deliberate as usual. "Was there trouble?"  
  
I shook my head and waited for Kurt to buzz us inside the gates. We walked in as the gates swung open to let us in and shut behind us.  
  
"Vas?!" Kurt cried. "No trouble?! Aisha, are you sure?"  
  
I nodded again and yawned, trying to ignore Rebecca's presence in my mind.  
  
'Please go away...'  
  
'I made a connection. I can't leave unless you want me to sever the connection now...'  
  
'Could you?'  
  
'Do you want to be a vegetable for the rest of your life?'  
  
'Oh...I see...'  
  
"Aisha? You seem a little lost in thought. Are you okay?"  
  
I nodded again.  
  
"I was just thinking about what Mystique said, considering her offer."  
  
"Vas?!"  
  
Kurt grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me until I felt like my teeth were rattling.  
  
"You cannot accept! Nein! Nein!"  
  
I pushed him off and glared at him.  
  
"I said considering her offer, not dedicating my life to it. Besides...I have to tell you guys something..."  
  
They both looked up and Rebecca pressed on my mind, making the words come out.  
  
"I really like it here. It's so clean...and safe..."  
  
'Why did you do that?'  
  
'I was going to tell them the truth!'  
  
'And lose your new friends? Even you wouldn't do that, Aisha.'  
  
I watched Kurt put an arm around Elli's shoulders as we entered the mansion, playing with one of her braids as she giggled and took the hand on her shoulder, smiling sweetly at him.  
  
I hurried to my room and shut the door behind me, noticing my visitor only when they cleared their throat.  
  
"Bad timing?"  
  
It was Jean, standing by the window awkwardly. I brushed some stray hair out of my face and smiled sheepishly.  
  
"No...no it's okay. I was just a little..." I glanced at the door, and I could just imagine Kurt and Elli looking at each other as though nobody else was there. "...a little stressed about something."  
  
Jean smiled weakly aand I gestured for her to take a seat on Elli's bed as I sat on mine. She sat down and looekd at the floor shyly for a minute before talking.  
  
"How long have you been here, Aisha? A week?"  
  
I nodded and she continued.  
  
"I feel like I've been giving you the wrong impression, like I don't want you here. That might be true in some cases, please don't take it personally, but I'm a bit jealous about the way Scott looks at you sometimes..."  
  
She squirmed and I managed a small smile.  
  
"...it's like I'm not even there. Do you know what that feels like?"  
  
"All too well. I'm sorry, Jean. I don't try to call attention often, but Scott just seemed...different to me somehow. I think it's because we're both mutants...seperated from most of the world, but I can't really explain it. You know what I mean?"  
  
Jean nodded and brushed some hair out of her face.  
  
"Yeah. Scott's a great guy, and I've known him for a while, I just can't work up the courage to ask him out, and I refuse to do any brain tapping..." She smiled at me and sat up straighter. "It would just make me seem so nosy. He seems to be the catch around here though, considering that Evan is out there, too. Poor Evan..."  
  
I grinned at her and she grinned back. Maybe this girl wasn't so unbearable after all.  
  
The door to the room opened and Elli walked in, trying to get Kurt to keep walking.  
  
"I'll meet you later, at your room after dinner, okay?"  
  
"But Elli! I cannot bear to be without you! And you cannot resist the charms of the fuzzy one!"  
  
Elli gave him a push out the door and looekd at us, rolling her eyes as she shut the door.  
  
"He's a strange banana."  
  
Jean looked ready to say something, but shut her mouth. Elli put a hand to her mouth, smiling sheepishly.  
  
"Did I say the wrong word again, Jean? What's the word?"  
  
"Monkey."  
  
"Monkey?"  
  
"I'll show you a picture of one later, I think you've seen them before."  
  
"Monkey...that's a funny word..."  
  
I looked between them strangely and Elli picked up a thick book from on top of her dreser. A dictionary. She sat on the other end of her bed and began reading, completely enjoying it while Jean and I talked...and talked...and talked...  
  
'I remember doing this, Aisha...do you remember?'  
  
'I remember what it used to be like, Rebecca.'  
  
  
~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~*0*~ 


End file.
